How a Studebaker fixation spiralled into an amazing collection
Greg Diffen’s formative years in Melbourne saw his father use a Studebaker as a city hack. Now he owns a fleet of them – in the UK
There are many ways to arrive at a photoshoot but personally, I can thoroughly recommend travelling in a 1937 Studebaker Dictator Cruising Sedan. Other road users treat you with a certain degree of deference, even though the model name was intended to imply how this Studebaker ‘ dictated the standard’ that lesser cars would be obliged to follow. However, by the mid-thirties the word had unfortunate connotations and Greg Diffen’s magnificent car represents the last of the line before the model identity was changed to Commander.
The view through the split windshield is indeed a commanding one and the Studebaker is the sort of car in which you feel obliged to don a fedora and double-breasted suit before settling on the deeply upholstered bench seat.
The Dictator is just one of many rather splendid vehicles owned by Greg, an Australian who married his Canadian wife Kristine in Melbourne before coming to the UK in 2000 for work and never returning. ‘ The Dicatator is my favourite,’ he says. ‘I used it as my wedding transport, and when we relocated to Britain it transported both of my children home from hospital after they were born. Its coachwork is by TJ Richards of Adelaide and it has done just 80,000 miles since new; I think I became its fourth or fifth owner when I bought it in Queensland back in 1994.’
Today the mighty green Studebaker forms the centrepiece of a remarkable collection of cars that hailed from the marque’s plant in South Bend, Indiana. Greg notes how well a Cruising Sedan aged nearly 70 years is able to cope with Warwickshire traffic and how such cars were often found in the territories of the former British Empire, as they were better suited to the roads of Dar es Salaam or the Kenyan Highlands than a four- cylinder Morris or Austin.
Australia was another major export market for Studebaker, its cars often serving as police transport – Australian readers may remember the 1963 Cruiser used in the TV series Homicide. When Greg was four years old, his father ran a 1962 GT Hawk as the family’s primary means of transport around Melbourne. For Greg, this was the start of his automotive journey, one that is still very much ongoing. ‘I started virtually as soon as I passed my driving test,’ he says.
My attention was next drawn to the 1955 Studebaker E- series 1/2-ton pick-up truck which, according to its owner, is a common reaction. ‘ There’s something about that truck that really draws the eye, even when you park it next to a GT Hawk. The colour scheme is just right for the styling and it’s a more substantial machine than a Chevrolet of the same period.’
For a novice such as myself, the E- series is utterly imposing. A classic British pick-up of this era, such as a Bedford CA or a Ford Thames Trader, has a reassuringly modest appearance redolent of jobbing builders in Hampshire or greengrocers in Hackney. By contrast, the formidable Studebaker looks ready to roam Swamp County, Arkansas. ‘ When I’m out and about in the E- series, it attracts attention like a magnet,’ says Greg.
The pick-up was acquired in 2014. ‘I had to change the brake master cylinder but otherwise she was pretty much just as you see it today.’ In fact, when Greg sourced it from the US his intention was to come home with only the green E- series. ‘Instead, I found myself buying eight cars in one hit,’ he recalls. ‘I suppose you could call it a mid- life crisis decision.’ I prefer to see this as evidence of the true collector and in any case, a 1955 Studebaker commercial is a very desirable machine. ‘ That was the first year that the 1/2-ton was available with the 259ci (4244cc) V8 engine,’ says Greg. ‘ It was modified to be a “city truck” with chrome bumpers and an uprated differential so it can cruise at 70mph with three- speed overdrive.’ This extra power made the light commercials a viable Ford or Chevrolet alternative and the options included heavy- duty rear suspension with 11 leaf springs in each pack – vital for a nation where tarmac roads might not be guaranteed in many rural counties. Greg notes that the basic design of the E- series is pre-war, a fact masked by a cabin he compares to Elle Macpherson in terms of aesthetic appeal. ‘ You can clearly see that it’s a Raymond Loewy design and I love the details such as the First Nation Indian rug sewn into the seat.’ In marked contrast to the mighty E- series is Greg’s delightful 1960 Lark Regal VI Convertible that he bought in the US about three and a half years ago. ‘ The VI badge means that it has the 170ci (2785cc) straight six under the bonnet rather than the V8 unit, and “Regal” denotes a top- of-the-range trim level. She looked much the same then as she is now, although it’s only very recently that I’ve got her running. The timing was out, there were “issues” – shall we say – with the fuel pump, the vacuum advance was toast and there were quite a few challenges to overcome with regards to the wiring and incorrect parts fitted in the past.’
The Lark was launched as Studebaker’s alternative to the Chevrolet Corvair, Ford Falcon and Plymouth Valiant in 1959, although it was essentially a shortened version of the 1953- 58 ‘ fullsize’ models, which meant for a commodious interior. Greg points out that the 1960 versions were shorter than the 1961 models – ‘personally I think that they are cute little cars,’ he says – and the Regal VI coachwork is certainly radically different from the tailfinned excesses of late-fifties Detroit. The Diffen Lark has a threespeed manual transmission with overdrive and as a ‘ US compact’ of the early Sixties, it’s better suited to British roads than many a larger American car of the same period.
Complementing the Convertible is an equally striking 1963 Lark Daytona Hardtop that Greg bought in 2004. From 1961 onwards the Daytona versions became the flagship of the Lark range and in 1962 the industrial designer Brooks Stevens gave the line-up an inexpensive but very effective facelift.
This quietly impressive Daytona has the 259ci (4244cc) V8 engine, automatic transmission and power assistance for the steering and brakes. The result is a veritable competitor to the likes of the Falcon GT, not that any Studebaker enthusiast will admit to their marque of choice having any peer. ‘ It’s a delightful machine,’ says Greg. ‘ It’s so easy and forgiving to drive that almost any driver unfamiliar with American cars of that period would nevertheless feel at home quite quickly.’
The Daytona is also a reminder of how subtle many American cars looked in the early Sixties, although the same cannot be said of Greg’s 1963 Gran Turismo Hawk, which he bought circa 2013. If the Raymond Loewy coachwork for Studebaker ranks alongside the original ‘ T-bird’ and 1957 Chevrolet as an icon of post-war American design, then the GT Hawk is a prime example of how to end a production run on a high note. Greg’s red example was originally fitted with the standard 289ci (4736cc) V8 engine.
During the course of its life, the Studebaker was equipped with the desirable R2 performance engine, an Avanti R2 side-mounted supercharger and Power Shift automatic transmission. The result is a sports car that was the equal of any Thunderbird or Corvette.
‘The Dictator was my wedding car, and transported both of my children home from hospital after they were born’
‘ The performance will blow your socks off,’ Greg enthuses. ‘ As soon as you fire the engine, it becomes obvious that this is a Studebaker that really wants to go, be it in a straight line or around corners.’
The Diffen fleet is not entirely limited to Studebakers. Greg is also the proud owner of two Packards, although any motoring historian will tell you that the two companies agreed to merge in 1954. ‘ In 2010 I came by this blue 1937 Super 8 Limousine at a show here in the UK. I simply had to have it; it’s just a gorgeous car.
‘ There was a drivetrain whine that turned out to be the front pinion bearing in the differential. While we were “stuck in”, it made sense to change the clutch and pressure plate too.’
After much effort and £6000 of bills later, the Packard is once again ready to dominate the highways of England. ‘ The detailing is superb,’ continues Greg. ‘ Look at the dashboard, the upholstery and the heater vents in the floor for the rear- seat passenger. My car is a British-market rhd model and I would rate the Super 8 as one of the true great automobiles of the period. In fact, I‘ve spoken with the previous owner who was of the opinion that, braking and lack of power steering aside, the Packard’s driveability was far superior to his early Seventies Rolls Silver Shadow – and a lot more reliable. On the road she is simply magnificent to drive... to quote the advertising slogan, “Ask The Man Who Owns One”!’
And so to the almost impossible task of selecting my car of the collection. I admit that I was extremely tempted by the Packard Super 8, with its shades of The Ladykillers, but ultimately it’s Greg’s 1963 Lark Daytona Wagonaire that I would most like to take home.
It may seem quixotic to choose a station wagon over a Hawk GT, but this particular example is quite the Q- car. As a Daytona, it automatically has superior status compared to other Larks, and this handsome version is fitted with the R1 performance package comprising a 289ci (4736cc) V8, automatic transmission and disc brakes. There’s even an under- dashboard aircon system that bears a resemblance to the controls from a B-movie spaceship but, best of all, this Studebaker boasts a sliding roof panel over the load bay.
Greg makes the point that the potential Wagonaire customer would never have considered a Ford, Plymouth or Chevrolet because Studebakers occupied their own class. His black estate car demonstrates just how determined the firm was to innovate in a competitive market despite its limited funds.
The coachwork is smart and low-key, and no rival offering from the Big Three offered fresh-air motoring in an estate car. The Lark facelift for 1963 refined the looks and Greg’s example is replete with showroom appeal – a car for any hard- charging Sixties ad exec to take on a weekend fishing trip, combined with the ability to transport an upright Frigidaire.
‘Studebaker’s Wagonaire can take it!’ boasted period advertisements. ‘ Lawn mowers, boats, stoves, sinks, swings, slides, what have you. Because this Wagonaire is the different wagon, with that unique, practical slide- open roof. You even load it differently,’ they continued. Indeed, Movietone newsreels used a fleet of 30 Studebakers as camera cars, which were subsequently immortalised as Corgi Juniors.
The Wagonaire dominated much of the firm’s advertising but sales remained limited as the sliding roof proved corrosion-prone, and by 1966 sales were under four figures.
Yet the Studebaker’s carefully planned touches, such as the drop- down step on the rear tailgate, illustrate the showroom appeal for which the marque was famous.
With this fine car I was instantly transported from 21st century Warwickshire to suburban Connecticut in 1963, driving to a weekend of golf, rest and relaxation and bemoaning the music of Bob Dylan and other such beatniks.
The theory was that the driver had only to unlatch the panel and insert it into a recess over the front seat to enjoy a ‘ convertible estate’ but, as Greg and many other owners discovered, Studebaker had problems with the drainage channels. ‘ This would result in a Niagara fall of water when you open or close the roof,’ says Greg. ‘But once the system is properly sorted it really shows how ahead of the game Studebaker was as a company, even in its twilight years.’
Studebaker’s US operations ceased in December 1963 and for the last three years of the marque’s lifespan its cars were built in Hamilton, Canada until production stopped for good in March 1966.
As for Greg, his interest in the marque shows no signs of subsiding. ‘I seem to be focusing more on the Thirties models at the moment,’ he says. ‘ I’m also on the lookout for one of the Belgianassembled Studebakers, as these often came with a sliding metal sunroof, unlike their American counterparts.’
Greg is the editor of the magazine of the Studebaker Owners’ Club UK – which has around 80 members – and his devotion to preserving an important aspect of automotive heritage and the many pleasures of classic motoring are obvious from the moment you explore his collection. I certainly left Warwickshire musing on the possibilities of Studebaker Daytona Wagonaire ownership…